Tenured professor reveals step-by-step process to publishing papers in Q1 journals

TL;DR

Emilson’s writing consistency came from designing a life around a protected morning routine, not from relying on motivation alone.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

Tenure and academic publishing don’t have to be built on relentless output or a “publish-or-perish” treadmill. Lena Sorus Emilson’s path to tenure runs through disciplined daily writing, but it’s also shaped by choosing a mission-driven research life, stepping away from academia for years, and treating playfulness as a biological and practical tool for learning and creativity.

Emilson frames publishing as a daily practice rather than a last-minute scramble. The core requirement is discipline—planning time, setting up a routine, and writing consistently—but she emphasizes that discipline alone isn’t enough. Her breakthrough came after two years of struggling to write regularly, when she redesigned her life around a protected morning slot and made writing enjoyable instead of purely stressful. She describes a weekly planning ritual (mapping meetings and deliverables, with writing scheduled in), then a morning “stress dump” journaling routine: three pages written without revisiting the notes, followed by focused writing until her internal “noise” quiets. Sleep and environment matter too; she keeps screens off after 9 p.m. and prioritizes at least seven hours so she can function.

Her approach also rejects the idea that writing is merely a technical step that can be postponed until experiments are finished. Emilson argues that many supervisors lack the skills to train PhD students into strong writers, which can limit long-term academic careers—especially in a system where positions depend on publication records. She acknowledges generative AI as a potential disruptor but insists that the ability to communicate science remains essential, whether through papers, recordings, podcasts, or other formats.

On tenure, Emilson challenges the common assumption that the fastest route is to outpublish competitors. Her own trajectory was unusual: she left academia, ran a research lab, then went into industry for six years without publishing, while also surviving a life-threatening illness. Returning to academia later, she shifted into a new field—game design and playfulness—where she could align her work with what she loves: lab experimentation, building systems, and writing as a “code-breaking” skill. She links her career choices to a broader principle: publishing is a means of communicating work so others can build on it, not the end goal.

That mission-driven stance extends to her critique of academia’s destructive incentives. She describes competitive dynamics that can reward credit-taking and reduce reproducibility and shared value. The antidote isn’t abandoning publishing; it’s making conscious decisions about what to say yes to, what to refuse, and which collaborations create a healthier environment.

Finally, Emilson connects her writing routine to her research on playfulness. She defines playfulness as a state of mind—flexible, risk-taking, joyful, improvisational, and not time- or achievement-driven—rather than “playing” as an activity. In education and leadership, she argues, playful learning supports neurocircuitry growth and deeper embodied understanding. Teachers, she says, should facilitate playful situations by designing environments students can co-create, then reflect afterward. The practical takeaway is that sustainable academic output comes from aligning daily habits, personal joy, and a clear purpose—while being kind to oneself when stress and setbacks arrive.

Cornell Notes

Lena Sorus Emilson’s route to tenure centers on consistent writing, but the real lever is designing a life where writing feels rewarding rather than purely stressful. She built a daily routine: weekly planning, morning “stress-dump” journaling (three pages), protected morning writing time, and strict sleep/screen boundaries to protect focus. Emilson also argues that many PhD supervisors don’t train students into strong writers, which can harm academic careers in a system that rewards publication volume. She rejects “publish-or-perish” as the only path, describing her own detour out of academia for years and her return with a mission-driven focus on playfulness and learning. For her, publishing is communication so others can use and extend the work—not the ultimate goal.

What specific routine helped Emilson move from being stressed about writing to writing every day?

She describes a structured morning system. Each Sunday she plans the week and schedules writing among meetings and deliverables. Daily, she starts by journaling to “empty stress out” on the page—writing three pages or until her internal mental noise quiets—without revisiting the notes. Then she moves into focused writing during the protected morning window, before others start their day. She also protects sleep (at least seven hours) and removes friction by turning off screens after 9 p.m., which she credits for making the routine sustainable.

Why does Emilson say discipline isn’t enough for consistent publishing?

Discipline provides the structure, but she says boredom and stress can drain motivation if writing is treated only as a chore. Her solution was to find enjoyment by identifying what creates “joy” and a playful mindset for her. She also sought positive triggers through people and community—working with students on projects, running informal journal clubs, and participating in the Publishers community so she isn’t alone with the struggles of writing.

How does Emilson challenge the idea that tenure requires outpublishing competitors?

She argues that trying to work harder and publish more than rivals isn’t necessarily the best or only path. Her own tenure story includes leaving academia and spending six years in industry without publishing, alongside overcoming a life-threatening illness. That detour didn’t end her academic trajectory; it reshaped her interests and returned her to academia with a new focus, showing that career progress can come from mission alignment and long-term rebuilding, not only short-term output.

What critique does Emilson make of academia’s publication incentives?

She criticizes a system that equates career success with the number of papers, often prioritizing novelty over reproducibility. She notes that reproducing others’ work may not bring the same career credit, which can distort what gets rewarded. She also describes “destructive” competitive behaviors—like taking data and turning it into graphs for credit—arguing that researchers must learn to set boundaries and choose collaborations that support shared value.

How does Emilson define playfulness, and why does she connect it to learning and neurobiology?

Playfulness is a state of mind, not a verb or a game. It involves flexibility, risk-taking, creative thinking, and joy, with no time pressure, no achievement focus, and improvisation. She says playfulness is biologically evolved for survival and equilibrium, and she argues it supports learning by strengthening or creating neural connections. She cites animal research (not human experiments) suggesting playful states increase nerve-cell connections, which she uses to justify designing learning environments that induce playfulness.

What does Emilson recommend teachers do to create playful learning environments?

Teachers should not try to be playful themselves with a purpose-driven mindset; instead, they should design conditions where students reach a playful state. She describes using roleplays and case-based workshops: students receive cards with roles and emotions, improvise responses, and then reflect through show-and-tell and retrospectives. The key is co-creation and freedom—students can adapt the scenario so it becomes fun for them—followed by analytical reflection to connect the embodied experience to learning goals.

Review Questions

Which elements of Emilson’s morning writing routine (planning, journaling, timing, sleep/screen rules) are most transferable to your own schedule, and why?
How does Emilson’s definition of playfulness differ from “playing a game,” and what would that imply for designing a classroom activity?
What trade-offs does Emilson suggest when deciding what to publish and which collaborations to accept or refuse in a competitive academic environment?

Key Points

1
Emilson’s writing consistency came from designing a life around a protected morning routine, not from relying on motivation alone.
2
Daily “stress-dump” journaling and weekly planning helped convert writing from a source of pressure into a repeatable process.
3
Many supervisors lack training skills for developing strong academic writers, which can limit long-term research careers.
4
Publishing should serve a mission—communicating work so others can build—rather than functioning as the sole measure of worth.
5
Emilson argues that tenure paths can include unconventional detours, including time outside academia and periods of no publishing.
6
Academia’s publication incentives can undermine reproducibility and collaboration quality, so researchers may need to set boundaries and choose healthier partnerships.
7
Playfulness is a biological state of mind that supports learning; educators can design environments where students co-create the “fun,” then reflect analytically afterward.

Highlights

Emilson credits a two-year shift from writing anxiety to daily writing to a disciplined morning system: weekly planning, three-page stress journaling, and protected time before screens and the day take over.

She rejects the assumption that tenure requires outpublishing rivals, pointing to her own six-year industry detour and later return to academia.

Her definition of playfulness—joyful, flexible, improvisational, and not time/achievement-driven—links directly to how learning strengthens neural connections.

In education, she recommends teachers facilitate playful situations through co-created roleplay and reflection, rather than trying to “be playful” with a fixed lesson goal.

Topics

Tenure Path
Daily Writing
Publish-or-Perish
Playfulness in Learning
Game Design

Mentioned

Lena Sorus Emilson
Jean Paul Sebastian
Kathy Wong
Lizette Britz
Maric Kovak